It looks like students in the Chicago Public School system may start finding themselves on longer bus rides and in half-empty dirtier schools next fall thanks to $75 million in non-classroom" cuts ordered Thursday by Mayor Rahm Emanuels handpicked schools team.
With a $720 million deficit and nother $77 million in new budget cuts authorized by the Illinois General Assembly the latest round of bureaucratic belt-tightening merely keeps the current system barely above water. But as The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting the cuts send a powerful message to two key groups: the state which owes CPS $300 million and a Chicago Teachers Union that will be asked to make concessions to help eliminate the deficit.
As for the teachers union Emanuel said We inherited at the city a $600 million operating deficit. Were gonna fix it. The schools? $720 million. … Weve got to make the tough calls but everybody will have some skin in the game."
Asked if she was prepared to put some skin in the game" CTU President Karen Lewis said I dont even know what that means. To me its rhetoric."
Lewis later released a statement noting that the $75 million in cuts merely returns CPS to the status quo" after the $77 million in state budget cuts. The fact that so much money could be cut from administration and bureaucracy underscores the need for more transparency" in school spending she said.
The citizens of Chicago need to see every line of school spending how much is spent on what and to whom. Then we can have a frank priority-setting session that addresses research-based education policy" Lewis said.
Mayor Emanuel is between a rock and a hard spot in a city dominated by unions and politicians interested in keeping the status quo but he is saying all the right things for voters in the current anti-big government climate.
My commitment is to keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible" Brizard said.
Emanuel added By cutting the bureaucracy first and preserving resources for the classroom it makes a statement as powerful as the money about where you set the priorities. Every decision were gonna make is how to preserve the classroom for the children so they can learn."
Whether the mayor follows through on his promises is another thing altogether.
It looks like students in the Chicago Public School system may start finding themselves on longer bus rides and in half-empty dirtier schools next fall thanks to $75 million in non-classroom" cuts ordered Thursday by Mayor Rahm Emanuels handpicked schools team.
With a $720 million deficit and nother $77 million in new budget cuts authorized by the Illinois General Assembly the latest round of bureaucratic belt-tightening merely keeps the current system barely above water. But as The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting the cuts send a powerful message to two key groups: the state which owes CPS $300 million and a Chicago Teachers Union that will be asked to make concessions to help eliminate the deficit.
As for the teachers union Emanuel said We inherited at the city a $600 million operating deficit. Were gonna fix it. The schools? $720 million. … Weve got to make the tough calls but everybody will have some skin in the game."
Asked if she was prepared to put some skin in the game" CTU President Karen Lewis said I dont even know what that means. To me its rhetoric."
Lewis later released a statement noting that the $75 million in cuts merely returns CPS to the status quo" after the $77 million in state budget cuts. The fact that so much money could be cut from administration and bureaucracy underscores the need for more transparency" in school spending she said.
The citizens of Chicago need to see every line of school spending how much is spent on what and to whom. Then we can have a frank priority-setting session that addresses research-based education policy" Lewis said.
Mayor Emanuel is between a rock and a hard spot in a city dominated by unions and politicians interested in keeping the status quo but he is saying all the right things for voters in the current anti-big government climate.
My commitment is to keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible" Brizard said.
Emanuel added By cutting the bureaucracy first and preserving resources for the classroom it makes a statement as powerful as the money about where you set the priorities. Every decision were gonna make is how to preserve the classroom for the children so they can learn."
Whether the mayor follows through on his promises is another thing altogether.
